The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust will give Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital $150,000 toward its Emergency Room Renovation Campaign, but the funds come with a string attached: They won’t be released until the hospital’s foundation raises another $212,000.

The foundation pledged $2 million to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for the $9 million construction project and has raised more than $1.63 million so far. Once the foundation tally reaches $1.85 million, the grant will kick in.

The funds are known as a “top-off grant,” according to hospital CEO Marty Cahill.

Foundation Executive Director Betty Koehn hopes the grant will inspire others to take part in the project and donate.

“Right now, every gift at every level gets us one step closer to receiving this ‘top-off’ grant from the Murdock Charitable Trust,” Koehn said.

Phase I of the $11 million renovation project is complete. The project includes $9 million in construction work and $2 million in new equipment, which is the focus of the foundation’s fundraising effort.

Phase I included development of new surgery and same day surgery departments that include 14 private patient rooms, two surgical suites and a procedure room.

The area opened last fall, Cahill said, but flooring was recalled by the manufacturer and over spring break, it was removed and new flooring was installed. Medical services were diverted to Samaritan’s other surgery centers in Albany and Corvallis, Cahill said.

The construction of 21 emergency rooms is now underway by Dorman Construction in the hospital’s former surgery department and is expected to be completed by July.

In addition to the new patient rooms, there will be two large trauma rooms, two nurse’s stations and an enlarged waiting room. The expansion includes new rooms, plus remodeling of current emergency rooms.

“We will actually be using about 16 rooms to meet our current patient needs,” Cahill said. “But, we are experiencing steady growth and we are building to meet that future need.”

Cahill anticipates adding emergency room staff to fill the four rooms expected to be used immediately after project completion. Currently, ER staff four rooms per medical team.

Cahill said that last year, there were 22,000 ER visits in the 12 rooms.

“Also, three of the new rooms are designed to be used as safe rooms for patients who come in with mental health or drug issues,” Cahill said. “We need safe spaces where they can be held until we can get them appropriate help.”

Cahill said the hospital’s foundation is “one of our most vital resources.”

“The foundation has done so many great things over the years,” Cahill said. “When we come to the foundation board asking for support, they always propose a goal that’s more than the ask. They are amazing.”

The foundation has been instrumental in the development of the hospital’s healing garden and the garden on the Samaritan Health Sciences Campus. Foundation funds have helped expand the Critical Care Unit, the Girod Birth Center suite and nursery expansion, the Health Career and Training Center, the Emenhiser Center for oncology and infusion, health career scholarships and the purchase of medical equipment for many hospital departments.

Established by the late Melvin J. Murdock, co-founder of Tektronix Inc., the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust provides grants to organizations that seek to strengthen the region’s educational, cultural and spiritual base in creative and sustainable ways.

To make a gift to the hospital’s campaign, call the foundation at 541-451-7063 or 541-451-6303.

The Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital campus was constructed in 1952 with local funds and a grant from the Hill-Burton Act. It was the 1,000th hospital in the country constructed through the Hill-Burton program.